Jim,

No doubt you'll get many different answers, but here's my take as someone
who owned two Grand Bankses and kept them in Florida and the Bahamas for
most of the 15 years I owned 'em.

For most owners, the purpose of caprail covers is to protect the varnish
and teak beneath them.  That's especially true in low latitudes where the
UV rays from the sun make quick work of varnish--and you're right there
front and center being in the Caribbean.

The ideal answer, of course, is to keep the rails covered 100% of the
time--then you'll have no sun damage, but you and your dockmates will never
get to admire those beautifully-varnished rails.  A more usual answer is to
remove the covers for underway periods and keep 'em covered when you're in
port for more than a day or two at a time.  Unless you have a reason to
show off the varnish!

IMHO, there are no right or wrong answers.  Over the years my wife and I
owned our Grand Bankses, we kept the rails covered in port most all the
time.  However, when we were cruising and moving every few days, we
generally left the covers off for extended times.  That seemed a fair
balance.

For me the best solution is a boat that has no teak caprails.  That's what
I have now--except the teak caprail above the transom which we Awlgripped
white to match the gel coat.  After more than 50 years of cruising, I KNOW
that's the right solution for me, but as the old saying goes, YMMV (your
mileage may vary)!

Milt Baker, Nordhavn 47 Bluewater

Jim wrote:

I have a sunbrella type material that attaches to the cap rail on our
Hatteras 48 LRC.  It is old and needs to be replaced.

It came with the boat and was on the boat when we bought it almost four
years ago.  This past summer we removed it and had the teak refinished
although it was in pretty good shape.

Currently the teak is exposed and makes the boat look great.  The question
is when should I cover this rail?  In a marina for long stays?  When
cruising off shore?  Sounds like a silly question but I really want to know
your opinions.  Thanks.

Jim
M/Y Kokomo
Hatteras 48 LRC
Lying Rodney Bay Marina
Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, W.I.

Having owned a Woodie GB42 for 29 years, I think I know a thing or two about
taking care of the varnished woods topside.  Milt nailed it about when to
cover.  I might add that if your Sunbrella is loosely fitting, the wind will
buffet it around dulling the gloss of your finish.  One really good set of
Sunbrella covers I saw on a boat used Velcro dots placed at one foot
intervals on the overlapping parts of the cover on the underside of the hand
rail and helped with a tight fit which prevented buffeting by the winds.

Rich Gano
Frolic (2005 Mainship 30 Pilot II)
Panama City area